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38 Studios Announces Partnership with EA on Project Mercury

Former MLB pitcher Curt Schilling has assembled an all-star lineup for Project Mercury.

Retired Major League pitcher Curt Schilling earned the nickname "Red Light" during his playing days for his tendency to talk to the media the moment a camera's red light blinked on. So it's been somewhat surprising Schilling has been relatively mum on the games his startup company, 38 Studios, have been working on since 2006. And it makes today's news out of the Massachusetts-based company that much bigger: Single-player RPG "Project Mercury" will be published by EA Partners for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

In a statement, 38 Studios said the codenamed game is being developed by wholly-owned subsidiary Big Huge Games under the leadership of Ken Rolston, lead designer of Elder Scrolls III and IV. 38 Studios purchased Big Huge Games last May after parent-company THQ dropped the developer. The game marks the first entry into the company's still-mysterious fantasy universe created by author R.A. Salvatore and Spawn creator / artist Todd McFarlane.

"We are creating an enormous world, with heroes and villains and a rich back story from the brilliant minds of R. A., Todd and Ken at its heart, and I can think of no finer partner than the global powerhouse that is EA Partners," Schilling said. "Being able to leverage the expertise of EA's publishing organization to bring our first product to market is a dream come true for 38 Studios."

According to Kotaku, 38 Studios is already fully leveraging that expertise, enlisting BioWare's RPG masterminds Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk to help on Project Mercury. "I would be a fool if I didn't tap into one of the best RPG developers in the world with Ray and Greg," EA Partners' David DeMartini told Kotaku. "They were involved in the collaboration and discussion of the project."

So the roll call on Project Mercury now includes Salvatore, McFarlane, Rolston, Muzyka and Zeschuk. Not bad for a studio's first title. No release dates or further details on the game were revealed, but Salvatore is scheduled to speak at this week's GDC in San Francisco. We'll keep you posted on what is quickly becoming a promising-looking RPG.

Sharkey says: I figured Schilling, a self-professed EverQuest addict, would get the company's rumored MMO "Copernicus" out the door first. Big Huge Games was working on its own single-player RPG before being bought by 38 Studios, so it appears the two companies combined Voltron-style to get something out the door. It will be interesting to see how things come together.